


Home Alone

by NatF2003



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Family Issues, Kid Avengers, Kid Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is Trying His Best, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Queen Shuri (Marvel), Quentin Beck Being a Jerk, Tony Has Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28032825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatF2003/pseuds/NatF2003
Summary: Nine-year-old Peter is accidentally left behind when his family leaves for France. At first, he is happy to be in charge, but when thieves try to break into his home, he know he has to put up a fight and protect his home.
Relationships: Carol Danvers/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 55
Kudos: 108





	1. On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone requested a family tree, so here you go:
> 
> Pepper and Tony are married, they then had four children: Clint, Natasha, Nebula, Harley; and then adopted Peter Parker.
> 
> Rhodey is the closest thing Tony has to family, and is married to Carol. They have five children: Steve, Bucky, Wanda, Sam, Bruce.
> 
> T'Challa and Shuri are distant cousins who usually visit for summer, but are over for Christmas that year. 
> 
> All children are in order of age.

_T'was the night before Christmas,_

_And all through the house,_

_Not a creature was stirring,_

_Not even a-_

  
"Give that back!" 

"Get out my room!"

"Where's my suitcase?"

"Downstairs!"

"Who stole the hairdryer?"

  
_Oh, who am I kidding? Anyone within a mile of the house could hear the cacophony of voices._

_The Stark household. Already enough chaos without the added bonus of family, friends and Christmas all bundled into one._

_Their house is simply one of many on the dark, snowy street, lit only by the Christmas lights decorating the homes on the countdown to the big day._

_Let's put this to a more realistic standard:_

  
_T'was a few days before Christmas,_

_And all through the house,_

_Noise and choas,_

_From children and spouse._

  
_Of seventeen people,_

_Within these brick walls,_

_Seven of the household,_

_Roamed through the many halls._

  
_Another seven merely visting,_

_Plus two from another nation,_

_And one lonely officer,_

_Slowly loosing his patience..._

  
"Miss? Young lady! Excuse me. Girls! Hey, hey, little girl. Hey! Excuse me, girls. Girls!" The officer sighed in irritation as children continuosly ran past him.

The front lobby was a wide open space, decorated with a mix of modern and homely decorations and furniture, some paintings decorating the walls.

"Take the wenches!" Two boys jumped down the stairs, almost knocking the officer over, one brandishing a bow, the other a sword.

"Hey, big fella! Ma'am, excuse me. Ma'am? Excuse me." The officer continued to try and fail getting the attention of anyone in the household.

"Help me make the beds in the living room.   
Come on down here!" One woman yelled, wearing an olive green air force jacket.

"Ma'am? Ma'am! Hi. Hey, son. Son! Big fella. Hey. Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Little guy! Little guy!" The man in police uniform sighed in frustration.

...

"Tony's friend and his family are here. Oh, it's crazy." Pepper Potts exclaimed into the phone, holding up one of her blouses before putting it into the luggage.

Her and Tony's room was smaller than Tony's old homes bathroom, but Pepper prefered it that way. More homey. There were pictures of the family decorating the room, small trinkets picked up over the years, art, or scribbles, decorating the magnetic wall above the desk.

"You know, Maria is going to Montreal."

"Montreal? Oh, that's right, her family moved there." She lightly laughed as she sifted through the growing pile, pulling out a screwdriver.

Fondly rolling her eyes, she placed it on her husbands bedside before turning back to her own packing.

"Then we're off." Sharon continued as she did this.

"When do you leave?" Pepper questioned, throwing a scarf onto the headboard. She wasn't going to need it.

"Oh, tomorrow." 

"You're not ready, are you?" She said in a teasing tone, zipping up the front of the suitcase after putting in her hairbrush.

"Of course I'm-"

"Pepper, Uncle Rhodey won't let me watch the movie, but the big kids can. Why can't I?" A voice exclaimed, and Pepper turned to see her youngest had walked into the room.

"Sweetheart, I'm on the phone." She directed towards him, before speaking back into her phone. "When do you come back? Not till then?" Peter watched her continue to pack, brows furrowed but unwilling to back down. He walked forward.

"It's not even rated R. He's just being a jerk." He continued to plead his case, looking up at Pepper with doe eyes, attempting to persuade her to let him watch the movie.

"Sweetheart, if Rhodey says no... then it must be really bad. No, he's not bringing his work with him, Tony will just have to do without-" Pepper cut herself off as Peter jumped onto the bed and into the pile of clothes.

"Hey, no. Peter, please, I'm trying to pack, out of the room." She said as gently as possible to the young boy, sighing at the annoyed look on his face.

"Then stop talking on the phone."

"Oh, this kid." She muttered under her breath, looking up as footsteps made their way to the room.

"Hey, any chance you picked up a voltage adaptor?" Tony asked, handing Pepper a toothbrush which she gladly accepted.

"No, I didn't have time to do that. I was too busy running _your_ company." She said teasingly, grinning up at her husband and trying to ignore the annoyed child at her side.

"Then... how do I shave?" He asks, quirking an eyebrow.

"I don't know, I guess you'll just have to use what we call a cheap razor." She replied, bringing out a bright pink one and shoving it into his chest, where he deftly caught it before it fell.

The look of utter betrayel had her grinning, before they were interrupted.

"Tony, nobody's letting me do anything." The man in question turned to see Peter standing on Pepper's other side, and raised a mocking eyebrow.

"Oh? I've got something for you. Pick up those tools that are all over there. Carol almost broke her neck." Peter's face fell from where it had risen with hope.

"He was in the garage again playing with your scrapped ideas." Pepper said disctractedly, looking disdainly at the pair of heels in her hands.

"Pete, we talked about this." His voice hardened as he glared down at Peter, annoyance clear on his face.

"He gets it from somewhere Tony." She answered, attempting to calm the mechanic. They'd had this conversation one too many times now.

"Did I burn it down? I don't think so. Besides, I needed wiring for my contraption." Peter said, shrugging his shoulders in nonchalance.

"You mean the wires I just ordered in?" Tony asked in clear disbelief, stepping past Pepper to lean down to Peter's level.

"I couldn't find any others at the time. It's not like I'm allowed down in the lab." Pepper breathed through her nose as her eyes closed. This argument had been one she hadn't expected from a nine-year-old, but she could also somewhat agree with him.

"Your too young-" He started with the same argument he always did, only to get cut off.

"Harley was allowed down at my age! You just prefer him over me." He stamped his foot on the floor, tiny fists curled in and nails digging into the skin.

"Tony." Pepper warned.

"Come on, Peter. You heard the woman. Out." He said, picking him up as if he was still six. Pepper sighed.

"Tony, that's not what I-"

"Tony, Pepper, do you guys have a voltage adaptor?" Carol asked, coming to lean against the door with her arms crossed, green jacket russeling.

"Here's your voltage adapter!" Tony said, throwing Peter into her unsuspecting arms, as Carol gave him an annoyed look before smiling down at her nephew.

"Hey, Peter Parker. God, you're getting heavy!" She said, putting him down and ruffling his hair. He laughed as he shoved her hand away. "Got something for me?"

"His Aunt Carol. Here!" He said excitedly, shoving a folded piece of paper into her hands. "It's you flying." 

"Aren't you a little artist? Alright, foods on it's way, so go pack your suitcase." She ruffled his hair again as she continued walking down the hall, only for Peter to stop dead in his tracks.

"Pack my suitcase?"

...

"Do you know where the shampoo is, Bruce?" Shuri marched into the room, braids swinging, carrying a bundle of clothes under her arms.

Shuri stared - more like glared - at the young boy who sat at the large dining room table, empty of Christmas decorations save for a basket as centre piece.

"I don't live here." Bruce replied, holding his hands up in defense at the annoyed teen, pushing his glasses up from where he had been working on holiday homework in the dining room.

"Honestly. I don't believe in a house with this many people, there's no shampoo. It's as if we're living in the Stone Age." She continued her march into the front lobby, where she was stopped by the officer.

"Pardon me, are your parents here?" He asked, arms crossed.

"My parents live in Africa." She cut him off with a wave of her hand, turning as her brother made his way from the other room.

"Shuri, did you order the pizza?" T'challa asked, arms held behind his back as she rolled her eyes, throwing a shirt at him, which he caught, looking up with a questioning glance.

"I don't know, ask the white boy, brother." She replied, continuing up the stairs and patting Steve on the shoulder as he flew down, giving an tired look to the other teen.

"Steve, did you order pizza?" T'Challa asked in exasperation, shoulders relaxing at Steve's two finger salute.

"Clint did." T'Challa continued on into the kitchen, whereas Steve was also stopped by the officer, who was starting to get more and more frustrated.

"Excuse me, sir. Are your parents home?" He gestured, before crossing his arms, annoyed at the continuous stream of kids appearing from every corner of the house.

"Yeah, but they don't live here." He replied, before heading into the opposite direction of T'Challa to the living room, only to be passed by a girl in a red jacket with brown hair.

"Hi!" The officer leant down to the girls level.

"Hi!" Wanda returned the greeting.

"Are your parents home?" The officer asked.

"Yeah." She replied, face clearly expressing the idiocy of the question.

"Do they live here?" The slight hope that had sparked in the officers chest was instantly squashed.

"No." She said with an eye roll, before walking away. She knew food was on the way. She wasn't going to be last.

"No. Why should they?" He said, shrugging his shoulders. "All kids, no parents," He opened his arms out as if expressing his thoughts to a group. "Probably a fancy orphanage."

_Oh, my dear 'friend',_

_Not some fancy orphanage,_

_Merely a family not of blood,_

_Causing a mass wreckage._

  
_Now let's take a small break,_

_Before the next scene may begin,_

_So see you when the story continues,_

_That your lovely narrator will bring._


	2. Twelve Drummers Drumming

"I don't know how to pack a suitcase. I've never done it once in my whole life." Peter said, sitting on Harley's bed as he shoved his shirts in, attempting to ignore the younger boy.

"Tough." Harley replied, zipping up his bag and standing up, walking out of his room and into the hallway, where pictures lined the wall. Peter was sure Pepper was obsessed.

"That's what Natasha said." He followed behind Harley, only for him to stop as another voice spoke out.

"What did I say?" Natasha asked, looking at her two younger brothers.

"You told Pete 'tough.'" Harley said, nodding his head over at the smaller, who stood off to the side between the two.

"He was whining about a suitcase. What was I supposed to say? The little dope needs to figure it out himelf." The two walked off side-by-side, as Peter sped to catch up.

"I'm not an idiot! I can do things by myself!" Peter said, getting in front of the two of them, only to be side-stepped by Natasha.

"Oh, really? You're completely hopeless. Everyone has to do everything for you." She spoke back in annoyance, before continuing on as Harley went into the bathroom, Peter following.

"She's right, Pete." Harley added, shoving a toothbrush into his trouser pocket, touching the mirror and dragging down a glowing blue light to turn off the main light.

"Excuse me, potato-face. I'm a lot smaller than you. I don't know how to pack a suitcase." Peter started, only for someone else to interrupt them.

"I hope you didn't just pack crap, Harley." Nebula said to Harley, walking up from behind them. Peter grumbled in annoyance. They always ignored him.

"Shove off, Nebs." Harley said, putting down his bag to double-check it.

"Do you know what I should pack?" Peter aksed Nebula, hoping she would answer.

"Clint told you, cheek-face. Toilet paper and water." Harley cut in, shoving past and going to the top of the stairs, going down the first flight.

"No need to worry, you know Mother's gonna pack your stuff, anyway. You're what people call incompetent." Nebula said, dark eyes glaring down at him.

"What?" Peter was starting to get annoyed.

"Bombs away!" Harley yelled, and they both turned to see his bag disappear underneath them, most likely into the front lobby.

What they didn't see, was the officer looking incredibly unimpreesed as he pursed his lips at the bag which had landed at his feet, and the boy who threw it.

"P.S. You have to sleep on the hide-a-bed with Bruce. Try not to make him mad. And make sure to pack toothpaste." She said, before finally walking away, leaving Peter to stew on the landing.

"This house is so full of people it makes me sick! When I grow up, I'm living alone! Did you hear me? I'm living alone! I'm living alone!" Peter yelled, jumping up and down. The officer only looked up in disbelief at hearing the yelling and stomping. What the hell kind of household was this?

...

"Who's gonna feed your spider? Jarvis keeping watch?" Bucky asked from the next room, tapping the glass as the tarantula scurried to hide before coming through intk Clint's room.

"Ain't mine, it's Peter's. And Jarvis is down right now, something about updating. Anyway, she just ate a load of mice guts. She'll be good for a couple weeks. Besides, she's creepy." Clint said, zipping up his bag.

"Why'd your parents get the punk a spider anyway?" Bucky asked, picking up one of the arrows and testing the point.

"Don't know, he wanted it. He's weird, and I sometimes honestly don't know why Mum and Dad took him in. I mean, he named his spider 'Karen'." Clint said, picking up one of his bows and pulling back the drawstring before setting it back down.

He didn't know Peter had been listening outside the door. Ignoring it for now, Peter walked in and up to Clint.

"Clint?" Peter asked, walking into the room. Clint looked up at the intrusion, putting the phone away in his bag.

"Don't you know how to knock, dipshit?" He asked, glaring at the younger.

"Can I sleep here? I don't want to sleep in the attic." Peter asked, shaking his head to emphasize his point.

"I wouldn't let you sleep in my room if you were forced to sleep outside." Clint said, before walking over to the window, Bucky and Peter following to either side of him.

"Check it out. Old man Stan." Clint nodded his head outside, to an old man shovelling the pavements.

"Who's he?" Peter asked, tilting his head.

"You ever heard of the South Bend Shovel Slayer?" Clint asked, turning his head side to side to brother and cousin.

"No." Bucky deadpanned.

"That's him. Back in '58, he murdered his whole family and half the people on his block... with a snow shovel. Been hiding out in this neighborhood ever since." 

"Well, if he's the shovel slayer, how come the cops don't arrest him?" Bucky said, not buying what Clint was saying as he examined his nails. Wanda had decided to paint them, while Natasha had pulled his hair into a ponytail with dutch braids on either side.

"Not enough evidence to convict. They never found the bodies. Everyone around here knows he did it. Now it'll just be a matter of time... before he does it again."

"What's he doing?" Bucky asked, entertaining the idea.

"He walks up and down the streets every night... salting the sidewalks." Clint spoke as if it was such a dastardly deed.

"Maybe he's just trying to be nice." Peter shrugged his shoulders as he watched him salt the roads.

"No way. See that box full of salt? That's where he keeps his victims. The salt turns the bodies into mummies." He whispered thr last part, towering over Peter as he scrunched his eyes.

"Wow." Bucky said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he walked away from the window.

"Mummies." Peter breathed out, in a mix of wonder and fear.

"Look out!" Clint shouted, pulling closed the curtains and grinning as Peter yelled in fear, only to groan as Steve yelled in passing.

"Clint, stop scaring Peter and you better have ordered that pizza."

...

"How you kids doing? Good? Lot of action around here today, huh? Going on vacation? Where you going? You hear me, or what? Going on a trip? Where you going, kid?" It was like talking to a wall. In actuality, it was Sam and Bruce, but Sam couldn't be bothered answering and Bruce was scared of strangers.

The door bell rang, and since no one else had seemingly heard it, the officer sighed and opened it himself.

"Okay, that's $122.50." The pizza guy said, holding out the pizza's to the officer, who glanced at him before shaking his head.

"Not from me, kid. I don't live here." Luckily, he thought.

"You just around for the holidays?" The teen asked, looking around the house in wonder. It was massive, and looked expensive.

"You could say that." The officer said looking away, only to hear thunderous steps come down. The stampede was coming.

"Hey, pizza's here!" Rhodey yelled out, taking the pizza boxes in hand and using his chin to sfeady them.

"There you go. That's $122.50." The pizza guy said, looking at Rhodey expectantly.

"Oh, it's my friend's house. He'll take care of it. He owes me, that bastard." Rhodey muttered the last part quietly, trying to make sure the 'young, impressionable minds of the youth' didn't hear.

He scoffed. The amount of times he heard Tony's and his own kids swear could make any old church woman cluch her purse.

"Hey kids, c'mon..." Carol said, hurding the gaggle of running children into the kitchen.

"Hey, listen, uh-" The officer started, only to be cut off.

"Rhodey, remember to use the red plastic plates." Carol called out, shifting Bruce in her arms. More people came running down the stairs, when finally a man with a goatee and an ACDC shirt came down the stairs.

"Hello." Tont greeted, eyebrows raised as the officer held out his hand, and Tony took it.

"Hi. Are you Mr Stark?" The officer asked, his own eyebrows raised and grinning, showing teeth.

"Yup." Tony answered, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"The Mr Stark who lives here?" The officer clarified, face in an expression which was slightly too sure of themselves.

"Guilty." He replied with a side smirk, arms raised and hands to the sky in a 'well, you got me' fashion.

"Oh, good, cause somebody owes me $122.50." The pizza guy asked, and Tony went to go get the money from the kitchen only to be stopped by the officer.

"I'd like a word with you, sir." The officer said, placing his thumbs in his beltloops.

"Am I under arrest or something? I swear whatever it was, I didn't do it. I think." Tony said.

"No, no, no, no, no. It's Christmas time. There's always a lot of burglaries around the holidays. So, we're just checking the neighborhood to see if everyones taking the proper precautions, that's all." The officer assured him, giving a strained smile.

"Oh yeah. Well, we have automatic timers for our lights, locks for our doors. That's about as well as anybody can do these days. Right?" He said with a shoulder shrug, but he was very much lying through his teeth. Of course, they had Jarvis, though he was going through a system check he would be operational the next morning.

Then there was the magnetic locks, high-security lab lockdown, security camera's. You name it, they most likely had it. Of course, Friday was centred at the tower in New York as well so that was an added bonus.

"You get some eggnog or something like that?" Tony asked, voice dripping in sarcasm

"Come on, Dad. Let's eat." Clint said, clapping Tony on the shoulder who immediatly walked away from the officer without a single glance, making the officers eye twitch.

"Eggnog?" He muttered, expression twisted in confusion and slight disgust.

"Pizza! Pizza!" Was heard from upstairs, along with the sound of stomping.

"Are you gonna be leaving, uh-?" Obadiah tried, but was once again ignored as the tiny footsteps from above finally came hurtling down the stairs.

"Pizza!" Peter yelled, arms up as he swung around the banister and shuttled along the hallway to the kitchen.

Walking in, he looked around at everyone inside and caught tail-ends of conversations.

"Grab yourself a napkin and you're gonna have to pour your own drinks." Carol said, putting down cups at everyones seats from where she leant over the table.

"Mom, does Santa have to go through customs?" Sam asked, staring wide-eyed at the woman, and he saw Steve choke on his drink in laughter.

"What time do we have to go to bed?" Bruce asked, sitting next to Rhodey. He had to crane his neck up to see him.

"Early. We're leaving the house at 8 a.m. on the button." Rhodey replied, looking pointedly around the table of kids in mock seriousness, though Peter also knew he was very serious. Tony had said anyone who didn't wake up on time would be left behind.

"I hope you're all drinking milk. I want to get rid of it. Hey, don't you dare-" Pepper said the last part to Harley, smacking his hand away with a grin.

"Honey, the pizza boy needs $122.50, plus a tip." Tony said, leaning his head in his hand as his elbow rested on the counter.

"For pizza?" She asked in exasperation, putting down the cups she'd been holding and looking into her wallet. Only card.

"Ten pizzas times 12 bucks." Tony replied, holding his hands up in a 'what-can-you-do' fashion.

"Rhodey, you've got some money, don't you? Come on." Carol said, whacking her husband in the chest with the back of her hand, a mocking smirk on her face.

"Nuh-uh. He forced me to pay for that $200 McDonals order." Rhodey defended himself, glaring at the man in question who whistled as he backed away.

"Don't worry about it, Carol. Remember the billionaire in the room." Pepper said as she picked up the jar and shook it, hearing the sound of paper bills inside.

"Yes, yes, bully me into paying for everything, I get it." Tony said with a role of his eyes. Peter looked away for a moment, getting annoued when he couldn't find his pizza.

"You know you're use, honey." She cupped Tony's face, who gave her a tired look before she gave him a peck on the lips, laughing at the disgusted sound Wanda made.

"Did anyone order me a plain cheese?" Peter dropped his hands, glancing around. No one was paying attention though, except the two teens in front of him.

"Oh, yeah, we did, but if you want any... somebody's gonna have to barf it all up 'cause it's gone." Clint chuckled, stuffing the last bit of his pizza into his mouth, giving a wink to Peter.

"Yeah, sorry squirt." Bucky said, although he at least gave a genuine look of regret, and gave a ruffle of his hair as he walked past.

"Bruce! Go easy on the Pepsi." Carol said over the buzz of the room, pulling it away the can from the young boy.

"Pete! Pete, get a plate." Clint started to mock retch as Peter got more and more infuriated.

Then Clint started to laugh hysterically, and no one else was even paying attention. No one was helping him, so Peter knew he would have to take matter into his own hands.

"Ahh!" He yelled as he charged at his unsuspecting older brother, who gave a small 'oh shit' before he was knocked back onto the counter. All hell broke loose.

"Passports! Watch it!" Tony yelled as he dove for the passports now half-doused in a mixture of milk and juice.

Rhodey quickly stood up, almost running over Bruce who dove under the table, while Steve tried to stop the other cups from falling to no avail.

"No, no. Let's get these passports out of here." Carol said, grabbing napkins to block the quickly spreading liquid along with everyone else.

"Peter, get off of him." Pepper yelled, pulling him off of Clint who quickly stood and glared at Peter.

"You moron!" Peter yelled at him while Pepper held him back, and Tony came over.

"Peter, what was that? Can't you behave for once in your goddamn life?" Tony said, glaring at his adopted son. 

"Are you okay, honey? Come here. Are you all right?" Carol asked Bruce from where he had been hiding under the table, clutching a book to his chest as he was lifted into Carol's arms.

"Stop, stop. What is the matter with you?" Pepper said, looking at Peter in disappointment. Usuallly, he would back down in embarassement, but everyone had just been pissing him off all day.

"He started it! He ate my pizza on purpose. He knows I hate sausage and olives and-" Peter was cut off by Wanda.

"Look what you did, you jerk!" She yelled, holding up her jacket which had spilled water on it.

"Wanda, calm down." Carol said, holding up a hand, and the girl quietened only to continue to glare at him.

Peter looked around the room, only to find everyone glaring at him. The teens and kids all had clear disgust and annoyance on their face, while Rhodey and Carol just looked disappointed.

Looking to the side, he could see Pepper holding that same disappointment on her face, with a bit off annoyance, but looking at Tony really hurt.

He just looked so mad and so tired. His arms were crossed, and his eyes screamed 'why did I adopt you?' Well, Peter knew why. Pity. His parents had worked at Stark Industries, and had been close to the Starks.

When they died, nobody else was there to take care of him, and after a month in foster care with a shitty Matron and some not-so-nice boys, he moved in with the Starks.

But he could see in their eyes he was just an annoyance. Always in the way. They'd already had their perfect family, then got stuck with him.

"Peter, upstairs, now." Pepper said with a tired sigh, rubbing her eyes as she leant against the counter.

"Why?" Peter's brows furrowed, he hadn't done anything wrong! Clint was acting like a jerk. Then Harley spoke up.

"I knew adopting you was a mistake." Peter breathed out sharply, eyes growing glassy unbeknownst to everyone esle, and he clenched his fists.

"Harley!" Pepper exclaimed in shock. She didn't know how Harley could even say something like that to his younger brother. She looked at Tony for support, but he didn't seem to be paying full attention.

"Shut up." Peter said it in what most would hear as entitled or bratty, but simply trying to hide the hurt behind that statement.

"Peter, just get upstairs. I think you've done enough." Tony finally said, and Pepper could see the shock and upset on Peter's face. She knew he always wanted Tony's approval and attention, and she knew her husband didn't fully give it sometimes. She would have to talk about it with him.

"Harley, we will be talking about this later. Say good night, Peter." Pepper said, walking forward and grabbing Peter's hand to pull him out the kitchen.

"'Good night, Peter.'" He grumbled as he was dragged away, hearing the words spoken throughout the kitchen now he was gone.

"Now what's for dinner?" T'Challa asked.

"Your brother's such a-" Wanda started, only to be stopped by Natasha.

"Don't finish that sentence." She was glaring at the younger. Peter could be a handful, but he was also her brother.

...

"Why do I get treated like scum?" Peter asked as he was dragged away, only to come to an abrupt stop in front of the pizza guy. Hey, it was this guys fault.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. This house is just crazy. We've got all these extra kids running around. My husbands friend in today. It's nuts." Pepper apologised, giving sheepish smile as she pulled the hair away from her face and handed over the bills from the kitchen.

"How come you didn't bring more cheese pizzas?" Peter asked, jerking his arm away from Pepper when she went to grab it again.

"Nice tip. Thanks a lot." The pizza guy replied awkwardly, slowly backing away towards the door.

That was when Peter noticed the officer. The man had a short brown beard and slicked back hair, but his smile was slightly off as he talked to Pepper.

"Having a reunion or something?" The officer asked, nodding his head towards the kitchen.

"My husband's friends mother recently moved to Paris for retirement, and we're housing a friends kids for the holidays. You know, the American experience. Anyway, she missed the family, so she invited us to Paris so we'll be together." Pepper explained, and Peter nodded along as the guy looked down at him, and gave him a wink.

His eyes narrowed further. There was something about his eyes Peter didn't like. They just seemed really empty to him. Lacking.

"You're taking a trip to Paris?" He said in what sounded like faux surprise.

"Yes, we hope to leave tomorrow morning." Pepper replied, but Peter was staring at the officer in distrust. He had a bad feeling about this guy.

"Excellent. Excellent."

"If you'll excuse me, this one's a little out of sorts."

"Don't worry about me. I spoke to your husband. And don't worry about your home. It's in good hands." The man said, walking forward as Pepper dragged Peter upstairs, looking back with a strained smile as Peter glared at him, before they disappeared around the bend.

"There are 16 people in this house. You're the only one to make trouble." Pepper said in annoyance, pulling him up the stairs and along the landing.

"I'm the only one getting dumped on." Peter said, glaring at the floor.

"You're the only one acting up. Now upstairs." Pepper said, standing in front of the door to the third floor, but Peter didn't register that.

"I am upstairs, dummy!" Pepper raised an eyebrow, and Peter glanced to the door they were standing at. Oh. "The third floor?"

"Go." She ordered, gesturing up.

"It's scary up there." Peter said, looking up at Pepper with large eyes which would one day get him away with murder if they weren't careful. Pepper sighed.

"Well, Bruce said the same thing so is sleeping with Sam. There's no more room. You're just going to have to make due for the night, alright?" She said, disappearing for a moment to come back with his pajamas, and putting them into his hand.

"I'm sorry." 

"Nice try. Now get upstairs, I'll see you in the morning." Pepper gestured upstairs again.

"Everyone in this family hates me!" Peter yelled, halfway up the stairs.

"Then ask Santa for a new family."

"I don't want a new family. I don't want any family. Families suck! All they ever do is disappoint you." Pepper's face hardened.

"Stay up there. I don't want to see you again tonight."

"I don't want to see you for the rest of my life. I don't want to see anybody else either." 

"I hope you don't mean that. You'd feel pretty sad if you woke up and didn't have a family." Pepper said, leaning against the door.

"It's already happened before. I'm used to it. All they ever do is leave. No, I wouldn't be sad." Peter assured himself, crossing his arms and glaring down at her.

"Then say it again. Maybe it'll happen." Pepper said in frustration. 

"I hope I never see any of you jerks again! I wish they would all just disappear." He yeleld, before stomping up the stairs, and collapsing onto his bed, folding his hands behind his head.

_'I wish they would all just disappear.'_


	3. Eleven Pipers Piping

Pepper woke up groggily, so knew her alarm hadn't gone off. Hearing the doorbell, she groaned. Why was someone ringing and knocking on the door so early?

Blindly, she reached over to press the alarm, but blinked blearily as it remained black.

Instead, she reached for the watch on her nightstand and pulled it towards her, focusing on the hands at... wait... no. Her eyes widened.

"Tony!" Pepper yelled, throwing back the cover as her husband stsrtled to his feet, almst falling out the bed in his haste to get to his feet. Looking into her eyes, he instantly knew what was wrong.

"We slept in!" Pepper and Tony both screamed at the same time, rushing to get dressed. Pepper was first.

"Tony, go get everybody's stuff and prepare breakfast! Go!" He hastily ran out the room as she followed close behind, banging doors as she went.

"Girls! Up! Get up! Clint, T'Challa, move! Up! get out of bed and get your stuff! Steve!" She yelled as she saw him look out. "Go help Bruce! Everybody up!" Finally she reached Carol and Rhodey, flinging the door open which had them both snapping awake. "We slept in! Get up! I'm helping Tony!" She quickly ran out the already filling hallways.

By the time she'd prepared some semblance of breakfast, everyone was running throughout the household; shouting, yelling, moving. 

Bags were being dragged outside to be taken by Happy, kids were being hauled into oversized jackets, electronics were being unplugged from where they were connected.

Pepper herself could feel her stress levels rising. As she grabbed her own bag, she prayed to herself she hadn't forgotten anything. She couldn't believe her alarm had broken during the night.

...

Outside, a young boy in a poofy coat and with a scarf and hat obscuring his face walked out to one of the two black vans parked outside the house.

"Hi, I'm Ned Leeds, I'm staying across the street. You guys going out of town? I'm only here visiting my Gran before we head to Florida. You know the Starks are going to France? Do you know if it's cold? Do these vans get good gas mileage?" While Ned was asking all these questions, the driver begged for a higher force to take the kid away as he continued to yap.

"Kid, I don't know. Hit the road!" The driver said, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. He was already unhappy with the snow which was covering every available service, and he didn't need another kid when he was about to drive six

He kinda regretted taking the job, but Hogan had convinced him to come. Not forgetting, Stark was paying, and he payed a lot.

Ned closed his mouth and silently turned away, looking towards the other driver.

...

"Shuri, T'Challa, do a head count. Make sure everyone's in the vans." Pepper yelled to the two teens as she passed by them on the stairs.

"Got it." "Of course." Was spoken at the same time by Shuri and T'Challa respectively. 

"Where are the passports and tickets?" Pepper yelled at Tony as he was pulling on his watch, both trying not to trip as they hurried down the stairs.

"I put them in the microwave to dry them off; and yes, I realise how dumb that sounds now." Tony said back, weaving through the stream of traffic.

...

"How fast does this go? Does it have automatic transmission? Does it have 4-wheel drive?" Ned questioned the driver, who sat with a 'kill-me' expression on his face, looking not all-too-happy. That's right folks, one Happy Hogan!

"Look, I told you before, kid. Don't bother me. Now, scram!" Happy said to the child who was leaning over into his personal space bubble. He knew Tony's small herd, this one wasn't one of them.

Behind them, the door opened, and noise and children flooded onto the front step, all dressed in large coats and speaking incoherently to one another.

"Line up in front of the van." Steve yelled over everyone as he held Bruce's hand. Nobody noticed as Ned opened Clint's bag behind them.

"Line up and shut up!" Bucky helped out Steve, as T'Challa and Shuri stood in front.

"Quiet! We need to take a head count." T'Challa said, but Shuri shoved him out of the way.

"Move, brother. In case you forgot, I'm the smart one. You'd probably loose count after three." T'Challa crossed his arms with an eyeroll at his sisters antics, but let her do it anyway.

"One, two, three, four, five..." Shuri counted, patting people on the head as she went.

"11, 92, 12..." Clint started speaking at the same time, arms crossed from where he leaned against the van.

"Clint, don't be a moron." She said, shoving his face as she counted six and silently laughing at his baffled expression.

"Six, seven, eight..." She reached back to where Peter (or whom she assumed was Peter) was playing with something, shoving his head down a bit. She'd always liked seeing him when they came to visit America. "Nine, ten, eleven, twelve." She stepped back and started getting into the van.

"Alright, half in this van, half in this one. Let's go." T'Challa said, pointing to the two vans and began to walk to the back one as half followed him and the other half stayed.

"Have a good trip. Bring me back something French." Ned yelled out. However, nobody knowing who he was lead them to ignore him, and he walked away with a shrug.

...

"There's no way on Earth we'll make this plane. It leaves in 45 minutes." Rhodey said as Tony was locking up the house, 

"Think positive, Honey-Bear!" Tony said, turning away and making his way to the front van where he'd seen Pepper go, and where he assumed Happy was.

"You be positive. I'll be realistic. As always." Rhodey replied in a joking manner, easing some of the tension out of Tony's shoulders.

"Ma'am, ma'am!" Pepper turned from where she was getting in the van to see a man running up. "Excuse me, your power is fixed... but the phones are a mess. It'll take a couple of days to patch them up... especially around the holidays." Honestly, she barely registered what he was saying, and simply replied thanks.

"Shuri, did you and T'Challa count heads?" Pepper turned around in her seat, looking at Shuri with pleading eyes.

"Twelve, including me. Eight boys, four girls, four parents, two drivers... ...and a partridge in a pear tree." Shuri said the last part with a flat voice and a deadpan face, before breaking out into a grin as she pulled on a pair of headphones.

They drove off as soon as Tony got in beside Happy, with the other car following closely behind.

The car ride was loud, but it was even more chaotic as soon as they got to they airport. Checking in, they threw their bags at the poor women at the check-in before running off to find their gate.

Pepper and Tony ran at the front of the pack, other potential passengers diving out the way of the stampede rushing through the airport, Pepper doing her best to keep her husband from getting lost.

Yes, maybe they should have simply used the private jet, but unfortunatly the last time Pepper had used it for a business trip, something had broke in the engine, and caused a major malfunction which would take a few days to fix, plus the added days of having it thoroughly checked out to make sure nothing was wrong.

In other words, they couldn't miss this plane.

"Hold the plane!" Tony yelled at the employee at the front of the gate, who looked in shock.

"Did we miss the flight?" Pepper yelled, and the woman gave a smile of disbelief, eyes still wide as she held up her hands in assurance.

"No. You just made it." All sixteen (fifteen, if you counted closely) people cheered in accomplishment. "Single seats only in coach. Take whatever's free." She said, opening the door, and everybody replied in thanks as they rushed through.

"I get a window seat!" Harley yelled as he rushed down the tunnel bridge to the plane, Natasha close behind as everyone else followed.

"You kids are in coach, we're first class." Rhodey said, and added for them to come forward if they needed them.

"Seats Four A and B. Four A and B. I'll take your coats." The flight attendant said to Pepper and Tony, and Pepper gladly handed it over. "Fasten your seat belts."

"We made it." Tony said, fastening his seatbelt as he took of his sunglasses.

"Do you believe it?" Pepper said with a smile, grinning at Tony. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, while she swatted at his head. She gave a small sigh. "Hope we didn't forget anything."

...

Back in the Stark household, the door to the third floor slowly creaked open, and Peter with his messy curls and half-lidded eyes peaked his head around.

He looked around the hallway, and was disturbed by the silence that met him. Even if everyone was asleep, you could always hear Clint's snoring.

Opening the door fully, he walked out and went into the bathroom.

After he was done, he walked across the landing and down the stairs, already missing the usual decorations that would adorn the house, but with them going to Paris today, they didn't really need them.

All was still silent. Surely Pepper would be in the kitchen, right? She's set her alarm earlier to get breakfast ready and wake evrryone up.

However, walking into the kitchen, it looked clean. Everything was unplugged and the usual dishes decorating the counters were missing.

He went and put on the TV, before sitting on a barstool. If no one else was up, he would enjoy the peace and quiet. 

After a couple minutes though, he surveyed the kitchen, and it just seemed so empty. He stood up and grabbed the remote, turning off the TV.

"Pepper?" 

...

"That's real. It's real crystal." Rhodey said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, so?"

"I will never understand airlines."

"You and me both. I miss my plane. Less whiney husbands." She said with a smirk, and Rhodey gave a playful scowl in reply before the flight attendant asked if he wanted a top-up.

"Yeah. Fill it up, please. Thank you." He answered, and turned to Carol as the attendant walked to the next people. "I love flying with Tony."

"Doesn't it feel a bit cruel, flying first class with the kids in coach?" Pepper asked from behind

"No. The kids are fine. The only time I ever flew as a kid was when I had to go with Dad for work conferences and galas on the jet. Or we had to go to Aunt Peggy's. Kids are okay. They're having the time of their lives." Tony answered, lefting his glass up as she smiled, and their glasses clinked together. 

Ah, such peace.

Pepper's lips turned dowon for a fraction of a second. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind she had forgotten something.

...

"Hello?" Peter asked, drawing out the word as he wandered along the corridor, before leaning into the room at the end of the corridor. "Pepper? Tony?" He walked over to where presents had been half wrapped. "Pepper? Tony? Where are you guys?"

He decided to go back upstairs, and first went into Clints room.

"Clint? Clint? Clint?" Archery medals and awards lined up the wall, and at least three bows and five typed of arrows as well. There were also circus posters and one of a hawk, for some reason. Most likely because he had claimed the title 'Hawkeye'.

Peter thought it sounded dumb.

After checking the rest of the empty rooms, he went back down again, but instead of just looking on the first floor, he went down into the basement.

"Natasha? Hello? Hello? Bucky? Uncle Rhodey? Uncle Rhodey, is this a joke? Natasha? Nebula? Is this a joke?" He surveyed the room, no other presence in sight, and his eye caught on the lab glass door. It was pitch black, and it was as if a figure lurked behind it. "It's only my imagination. Only my imagination." The door remain closed, but it was as if the shadows were reaching out, and he quickly booked it up the stairs.

Remembering the A.I in the house, he looked up towards the ceiling with ahopeful grin.

"Jarvis? Jarvis, are you there?" He waited for an answer, but his grin slowly fell as no answer came. Then he remembered that he had been down for updates or something, but he thought he was meant to have come back on by now.

Running out the front door, he ignored the biting cold and sprinted along the side of the house to the garage. "The cars are still here. They didn't go to the airport!" His mouth dropped, and he quickly ran back inside.

Peter walked in a daze back into the kitchen, face a deadweight as he fell heavily onto the chair at the counter in the kitchen.

"I made my family disappear." He said in disbelief, before jumbled thoughts - or memories - ran through his head.

_'You're completely hopeless.'_

_'Pep, sometimes I think we should have just let Peter be adopted by another family.'_

_'You're what's known as incompetent.'_

_'Peter, I swear to Thor I'll use you as target practice if you don't get out the way._

_'Tony, I know you didn't want another child, but you can't just ignore him.'_

_'There are 16 people, and you're the only one who has to make trouble.'_

_'Look what you did, you moron!'_

_'He's weird, and I sometimes honestly don't know why Mum and Dad took him in.'_

Peter's face began to change, eyes narrowing in mischeif and glee while his lips pulled into a devilish grin. 

"I made my family disappear."


	4. Ten Lords a Leaping

Peter ran out of the kitchen, stopping only to grab a bag of marshmallows, and into the living room, and set the speakers to play whatever was on next.

" _Yow!"_ Peter grinned as the music picked up tempo, running though to Tony and Peppers room where the music was blared louder. Climbing up, he began to jump on the bed while eating the packet of marshmallows.

Getting bored, he ran back through the front lobby and into the living room, before turning around and running into the dining rooms.

"I'm free!" He yelled, running around the dining room table before out tonthe front lobby, spinning in a circle as he launched himself up the stairs, arms raised.

He grinned as he headed into Clint's room, and opened up a chest to see a mixture of stuff, some most likely a little less than legal.

He shuffled through the box, ignoring the magazines in favour of picking up the red and yellow packaging.

"Wow! Firecrackers! I'll save these for later." He said, pocketing them, then shouted over his shoulder. "Clint, I'm going through all your private stuff. You better come out and pound me!" Peter just grinned when there was no response.

He did the same with everyone elses rooms. He found out Nebula had a switch blade, but quickly put it back when he almost sliced his finger; Natasha had tasers which he put somewhere forbeasy access, and then Harley had his potato gun.

Peter frowned at seeing it, and put it back. He didn't like seeing the things Tony made with others. Just the things Tony made, or the things he himself made. Besides, a potato gun was stupid.

Then he grinned, as he remembered the movie Rhodey wouldn't let him watch. He ran back downstairs, popping into his room to grab his favourite blanket, and after checking on Karen, he jumped onto the sofa and pressed play. 

Take that Rhodey!

_"Who is it?"_

_"It's me. Snakes. I got the stuff."_

_"Leave it on the doorstep and get the hell out of here."_

_"All right, Johnny, but what about my money?"_

_"What money?"_

_"A.C. said you had some dough for me."_

_"Is that a fact? How much do I owe you?"_

_"A.C. said ten percent."_

_"Too bad A.C. ain't in charge no more."_

"Guys, I'm eating junk and watching rubbish! You better come out and stop me!" Peter yelled out, smiling happily when no one answered but also a slight tug in his chest. He ignored it.

_"He'll call you when he gets out."_

_"I'll tell you what I'm gonna give you, Snakes. I'm gonna give you to the count of ten to get your ugly, yella, no-good keister off my property... before I pump your guts full of lead."_

_"All right, Johnny, I'm sorry. I'm going."_

_"One, two... ten."_

_"Keep the change, you filthy animal."_ Peter scrambled to grab the remote as he gaped at the TV, eyes wide as he clutched the blanket wrapped around him.

"Pepper!"

...

Shuri sighed in annoyance. This was her third time circulating the cabin, and she still hadn't found Peter. There was a new invention she had been working on, and she had forgotten to show him the day before, then had ended up in a different car.

Finally dragging herslef over to T'Challa, she draped herself over the seat where Natasha was seated behind him and flicked her braids in his sleeping face.

He startled awake, and gave her a baffled look as she huffed.

"I can't see Peter, I think I'm going blind. Help me look?" T'Challa sighed before standing up and walking over to the ither side. 

Shuri was now getting worried, as she couldn't see her science bud anywhere, yet had spotted everyone else. She had even seen where Bruce was napping with Steve, for fuck sake.

The siblings reached the end of the cabin, and they gave eachother a look. Something was wrong.

"I'll go talk to Steve/ Natasha." They bkth said at the same time, speed walking to their respective person. Shuri reached Natasha first.

"Natasha, have you seen Peter? We can't find him." Natasha looked mostly unworried, but she could see the concern in her eyes.

"You sure he wasn't in the bathroom?" She said, and Shuri shook her head. Steve and T'Challa came over, and Shuri noted that others began to look annoyed as they filled up the aisle.

"Shuri, where did Peter go when he got out the car?" T'Challa asjed, and Shuri gave him a quizzical look.

"What are you talking about? Shouldn't you know?" Shuri asked in reply, and her eyes widened the same time as the other two teens.

"He was in your car." T'Challa stated, holding up an accusing finger as Shuri bat it away.

"No, he was in yours! I saw him grab something from Clints bag while I did the headcount, then he moved away." She all but yelled, gaining a lot of annoyed looks.

They all looked at eachother, before moving onto the other kids and teens in the area, and asking if they had seen Peter. When they replied in the negative, the panic set in. Then Harley decided to add in.

"That kid in Clint's bag? Wasn't Peter. Saw him walking away; some kid from down the street or somethin'." Shuri held her head in her hands. How could she have made such a dumb mistake? 

"Why don't we just- check one more time." Everyone began to whisper-yell Peter's name throughout the cabin, asking other passengers if they had seen him. The continous 'no, sorry' stressed evergone out, and they were all frazzled by the end.

"He wasn't in the bathroom." Sam said, holding Bruce's hand.

"He wasn't back in the kitchen area, either." Nebula added, voice slightly strained as she clenched her upper arms as they were crossed across her chest.

"Well we've searched thisbroom top to bottom." Wanda said with a shrug of her shoulders. She was standing unworried, much like Clint.

"Are you telling me we left a nine-year-old in a house with no supervision?" Bucky asked, before getting interrupted by Clint.

"Guys, relax. Sure, the twerps home alone, but he's got Jarvis to watch over him. Dad'll be able to keep an eye on him from there." Clint said with a shrug, an easy smirk on his face.

"Think again. Jarvis' servers were down last night, who knows if they've finished yet?" Natasha said, and Clint's smile fell slightly as concern flooded his eyes, but he covered it again.

"Then we'll just wait for him to come back on. He's been updating all night, surely he'll have finished by now, right?" At Natasha's raised eyebrow, he bit his lip and turned away, fingers tapping on his forearms.

"This isn't good. What if he gets hurt?" Steve asked, brows furrowed as he clenched his jaw.

"What if he causes a fire? He almost set the garage on fore last time I was there and that was with my and an A.I's supervision." Shuri stated, getting slightly hysterical as she began to pace, and T'Challa held out his arms.

"Let's just calm down. The first thing we need to do is go talk to Pepper and-" Shuri and Steve took off running to first class, Natasha and Bucky not far behind. T'Challa sighed, before looking at the younger ones who had been left behind.

"Go back to your seats. We'll sort this out." As they did so, T'Challa sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn't going to be the 'American Christmas' Shuri had been promised from there Father. Far from it.

...

"What's the matter? Honey?" Tony asked Pepper, who was biting her lip as she stared out the window of the plane, watching the clouds pass.

"Nothing, I just-" she sighed. "I have a bad feeling." 

"About what?" Pepper pulled a strand of hair out her face, and her eyes flicked to the window again.

"That we didn't do something."

"You feel that way because we left in a hurry." Tony dismissed. "We took care of everything."

"Did I turn off the coffee machine?"

"No. I did, unfortunately. What I wouldn't do to have her with me." He began to mumble to himself, only for Pepper to cut into his train of thought.

"Did you lock up?" 

"Yeah." She almost laughed at the offended look on hjs face, but her lips flinched down. Tony looked at her expectantly.

"Did you close the garage?" Tony leaned back as he ran his hand over his face.

"Ah shit. Nope. I'll have Jarv lock it up when we land. I swear, if anything gets stolen-"

"No that's still not it. Somethings wrong, I-" People were getting cut off a lot, apparently, as at that moment the curtains between coach and first class were flung open as a frazzled Shuri ran through, much to the displeasure of the rest of the passengers.

"Pepper! We have a problem-" Shuri started.

"-don't know how it happened-" Steve joined.

"-it's bad Mom-" Natasha.

"-nt Pepper, I'm really sorry-" Bucky.

"Alright! Everyone quiet," Tony yelled over everyone. The four teens quietened. "Now what's the problem?" The four shared a look, and the nagging in Peppers chest increeased tenfold. Her eyes narrowed, and she was about to say something when-

"We left Peter behind." There was silence for a moment, while Pepper took a moment to take in what they said along with Tony, Carol and Rhodey. Once it sunk in, Pepper all but shrieked.

_"WHAT?!"_

...

"Five families are gone from this block alone. Gives us a perfect alibi, two simple robbers who stumbled upon Starks riches, home security bested by a simple power outage. It's almost too easy." Quentin Beck, ex-employee of Stark Industries. Many who met him would say he was... slightly unstable. His work was 'stolen' by Stark. He wanted revenge.

"Yeah. It's what he gets for relying on technology too much. All those rich guys, they'll never understand." Adrian Toombes. He lost his job after Stark fired him and his crew for 'not cleaning fast enough'. It left a lot of them at rock bottom, and one of his crew members commited suicide when they continously failed to get a new job, and lost their home. 

"I've got it all set up. When the electricity was out, I cut off the cameras, and those magnetic locks he has? Nullified. Only issue could be the A.I..." Quentin trailed off, staring at the house.

"Will it even be on while they're away?" Adrian asked, setting his arm on the window.

"Actually, a little birdie heard their A.I was down for updates or something. A pair of Stark spawn were discussing it. God, I hated it in there. I hate kids." 

"What're we looking at in there, anyway?" 

"Don't know. Rumour going around Stark's been working on something big. Something which could change technology as we know it. We get it? We're set for life." Quentin held out his hands, giving a sly smirk as he set down his phone in the glove box.

"So are we gonna be going into the kther houses? 'Cause I've got a daughter, and I know she would be upset to wake up to a destroyed house at Christmas."

"Oh please, this area is full of rich snobs anyways. But if you're that worried, just avoid anything that looks too sentimental." Adrian scowled at Beck's mockery. The only reason he was even doing this was because he needed the money.

"C'mon Toombes. It'll be fine. Just make it look like normal robberies, and we got our future set in gold." Quentin grinned, eyes empty of any feeling. Adrian subtly shivered. He wasn't quite sure he had made the right descision doing this now.


	5. Nine Ladies Dancing

Peter grinned as he grabbed the rifle which hung on Clint's wall; the one that he never allowed anyone to touch. Clint would be pissed at him.

Then again, Peter thought as he looked behind him at the broken shelf - Karen's casing luckily unharmed as he had moved it away - perhaps that wouldn't be the worst thing Clint would be mad about when he came back.

_If he came back._

Before Peter could delve deeper into that thought, he looked to the side, and his eyes focused on a wooden sled leaning innocently behind the door. He grinned

Oh, this was going to be fun.

Rushing to his room, he slipped on his poofy jacket and hat, scarf and gloves, then ran back into Clint's room and grabbed the sleigh, placing it on the area between stairways before running down and opening the front door.

Hopping onto the sleigh, he pulled down his gloves to make sure they were secure, and flipped his scarf behind him. He wrapped his hands tightly around the reins. He leant back, rocking for a moment before he slipped over the edge, and he yelled in excitement as he went racing down the stairs.

It passed in a blur, and he flew out into the wintery wonderland outside, before receiving a face full of snow as he fell sideways when unbalanced at the end.

Shaking himself, he laughed as he dragged the sleigh back indoors. That was fun. 

...

Peter decided to have a movie night that night, and was in the middle of watching The Grinch as wrappers and cans lay empty and abandoned around him. 

_"You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch. You're the king of sinful sots. Your heart's a dead tomato blotched with moldy purple spots, Mr. Grinch. You're a three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich..."_

However, Peter himself slept soundly in Tony's recliner. Outside, something more sinister was going on as a 'building van' pulled up into the driveway.

Peter startled awake at the sound of a car door slamming such, and he stilled with wide eyes as two shadows passed over the windows.

" _Which way?_ "

" _We'll go around back, down the basement. C'mon follow me._ "

Peter froze for a moment longer, before pulling himself up and out of the chair and running downstairs, switching on lights along the way, before thrusting open the basement light. He flicked the switch and listened out for the two voices again.

" _You said they were gone._ "

" _They were supposed to leave this morning._ "

" _Let's get out of here._ "

Peter huffed a sigh, as the muscles in his body relaxed, before he lauched himself upstairs, grabbing only his blanket as he shot off towards Tony and Peppers room, climbing under the bed.

His breathing was heavy as he lay still, listening out as the sound of an engine starting filled his ears, and relief flooded his senses as he heard the vehicle drive off.

He slowly slid two shopping bags infront of him, quickly snatching a pillow, and falling into a restless sleep with his blanket wrapped tightly around him, eyes clenched shut.

...

As soon as the plane landed and they were allowed to leave, everybody sprinted off; maybe some were too enthusiastic to push people out of the way.

Pepper and Tony were once again running at the front, this time Shuri hot on their heels, feeling guilty for not double-checking during the headcount. The mirror image of the day before would be laughable if it weren't such a stressful situation.

A lady was speaking French overhead, but everyone ignored it in favour of finding the phones. When they did, Tony physically flinched at the ancient technology.

"Miss, we have to use the phone, please." Pepper said, running up to a random woman after seeing all other phones in use.

" _Madame? Que faites vous?_ " Nobody really understood what the woman was saying, so Pepper tried to continue to speak in English, hoping the woman would understand.

"I'm sorry, it's an emergency. We really have to make a call." Pepper tried again, but the woman continued to look confused and slightly annoyed.

" _Que se passe-t-il?_ " The woman said, and once again, nobody understood her.

" _S'il vous plaît. Nos frère est seul à la maison et nous devons l'appeler._ " Did you really think I meant nobody?

Pepper looked in shock at her eldest daughter, who spoke fluently with barely an accent as she bargained for a use of the phone. Others also looked at her in disbelief. Since when did Natasha speak French?

" _Oh ma chérie, je suis désolé. Bien sûr, allez-y et utilisez-le. Je trouverai un autre téléphone. Bonne chance._ " The woman said, hanging up and speaking the last part to Pepper with a squeeze of her shoulder before walking off.

"Since when do you speak French?" Clint asked, but was interrupted by Pepper.

"Tony, I'm calling the police. Book us a flight home." Tony nodded as he set off with Shuri and T'Challa in tow. "Get change out of here and call everybody you know." Natasha, Nebula and Clint nodded as they set off to do just that. "Carol, here's my address book. You and Rhodey call everyone on our street. Maybe somebody can help us." She thought out loud, more to herself than anyone.

...

When Peter woke up, it was to a crick in his neck and cold air hitting his feet. He went up to stretch but banged his head up on a wooden board.

Looking around, he noted that he was lying under a bed, before everything came rushing back. No more family, lots of food, two robbers.

With bleary eyes, he reached his hands between the two bags which acted as a barricade, and pushed them aside, blinking heavily at the sunlight that offended his eyes.

"This is ridiculous. Only a wimp would be hiding under a bed. And I can't be a wimp. I'm the man of the house." He spoke out loud, and slid himself out from under the bed.

With a newfound confidence, he marched downstairs, and flung open the door, closing it behind him as he stepped outside, already regretting not putting on shoes.

"Hey, I'm not afraid anymore! I said, I'm not afraid anymore! Do you hear me? I'm not afraid anymore." He yelled out, turning his head from side-to-side as he marched down the front path of his house.

However, he stopped short at a dragging sound, and looked up as a shadow descended over him.

Slowly lifting his head, his eyes caught on the sharp edge of a snow shovel, and he gulped as his eyes continued to travel upward, only to see the face of Old Man Stan.

They stared in silence at one another for a moment before-

" **AHH~** " Peter sprinted back indoors, slamming the door closed behind him as he heard the automatic locks click in.

His arms flung wildy and he ran back along the corridor to his parents room on the groundfloor, closing the curtains before flinging himself under the bedsheets and pulling the covers over himself.

Yes, he was the man of the house.

No, he wasn't scared.

No, he didn't want his family back.

He didn't need them.


	6. Eight Maids A Milking

Ellie Phimister groaned from her position on the swivel chair, feet up on the desk. Pulling off her headphones, she reached out and picked up the phone.

"Village police department." Screw Colossus for making her get a winter job.

" _I'm calling from Paris. I have a son who's home alone. I'd like somebody to go there, tell him that we're coming home to get him._ " Ellie sighed as she listened to the woman talk, picking her nails.

"Okay, let me connect you with Family Crisis Intervention. Hold on." She slammed the phone on the window next to her. "Douchepool, can you pick up? There's some hyper lady on hold." She yelled through.

"What line, Justin Bieber?" And screw Colossus for making her get a job with this dick.

"Two, dipshit." She replied, before pulling back on her headphones. 

"Family Crisis Intervention, Captain Deadpool speaking." A man in a dark hoodie and jeans said, spinning in his chair.

" _I'm calling from Paris. I have a son who's home alone._ "

"Has the kid been involved in violence with a drunk family member? Or that one creepy uncle who everyone wants out their life?" 

" _No!_ "

"Oh, how about involved in a household accident? Purposeful or accidental."

" _I-I don't know. I hope not._ "

"Has the child ingested any poison or is an object lodged in his throat?"

" _No, he's home alone! I'd like somebody to go over to the house... and see if he's all right._ "

"So you need someone to go check on him?"

" _Yes!_ "

"Okie-dokie! Let me connect you to the police."

" _No, they just transferred me-_ "

"Negasonic Teenage Longest Name Ever!"

"What?" She said, annoyed.

"Hyper." Wade said, waving the phone around, and she rolled her eyes.

"Hang on."

"Please hold. Get back to you asap!" Wade said cheerily, before transferring her back to Ellie. "Honestly, you'd think she'd be more insistant." 

"I don't care, unless it's someone dying. Why the hell did Colossus make us do this? The dickwad."

"Honestly, the author just couldn't decide who else to put in. And the readers love me!" Sabrina the Teenage Witch just looked at him.

"You need help."

On the other end of the phone, Pepper began tapping on the phone as she alternated between looking and listening to it.

"No, please don't hang up. Please!" She sighed as no one answered, looking up as the others made their way back. "Any luck?"

"No. Didn't get anybody." Nebula said.

"Carol?" The afformentioned women shook her head in the negative.

"Nothing but a bunch of answering machines." She said, holding back the book to Pepper, who took it before turning back to the phone in her hand.

"Somebody pick up. Pick up!" She snapped.

" _Hey, it's you again._ " The woman spoke from the other end of the phone. Taking a deep breath, she tried again.

"Look, I'm calling from Paris. I have a son who's home alone, and l-"

" _Alright, we'll send a policeman over to your house to check on your son._ " The woman hung up, and Pepper let her head fall into her hands. What a mess...

...

It hadn't been long since Peter had dived under the covers when he heard banging on the door, and he tentatively lifted the covers from over himself, and peeked his head above the sheets.

When the banging started again, he gasped and ducked back under. What if it was them again?

However, outside it was dark, and a police officer rung the door bell. The man was tired, and his shift was supposed to end five minutes ago.

Knocking one more time, he checked the windows before turning on his radio.

"There's nobody home. The house looks secure. Tell them to count their kids again." He said, before walking away. He was too old for this shit. 

...

"You can't bump somebody or ask or...?" Pepper trailed off as she spoke to the woman at the desk. 

"There's no way I can do that." The woman in lieu of an apology, sullenly shaking her head.

"Isn't there a way if you ask somebody? If you said it's an emergency."

"I cannot ask them." The woman stated, and Pepper turned away with a sigh. She noticed Tony walking over, and fully turned to face her husband.

"She's sending a policeman over to the house." Pepper said, referring to the earlier phone call with the police woman. Pepper was pretty sure the woman hated her job.

"Well, that's a relief. Everything here is booked." He gestured around the airport, and Pepper's face fell.

"Nothing to Chicago?" Pepper asked, looking desperate.

"There's nothing to Chicago, New York, Nashville, you name it. Everything's gone." Tony said, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck as his head fell backwards.

"What about a private plane?" She tried.

"Sorry. We don't do that." The woman looked apologetic as she clasped her hands in front of her.

"Tony, what about any other planes? Surely you can book one." 

"Nothing's available till Friday. The plane in New York is grounded because of ice and our one is still needing to get fixed. The only thing here is a booking for us on Friday morning."

"Friday morn- that's two days away." Pepper said, shoulders falling as she let her hands lay on the desk.

"What else are we meant to do Pep? The kids are exhausted, you're exhausted."

"Just because you don't give a damn about that kid doesn't mean I don't." Pepper's voice was hard, as she glared at Tony (she tried to ignore the hurt that flashed into his eyes)

"I do care about him, Pep." Tony defended himself, but all Pepper's frustration boiled over as she jabbed a finger into his chest.

"Then why is it that every time he feels an inch of pride you come and knock him down? We agreed when we took him in he was our child, yet I have never seen you treat him the same as any other of our kids. He's trying his damn best to make you proud, but you just turn to look the other way." Pepper said. She knew she shouldn't be taking out all her anger at Tony, but she also knew this was something he had to hear.

She had sat idly by as Peter had been treated differently, ignored and not given the same opportunities. She had done her best to make sure he was loved, but her being CEO meant she didn't have a lot of days off.

She would admit that she hadn't been the best for Peter, but she also needed Tony to see that. This was the last straw. They had literally forgotten their kid at home, and hadn't realised until they were thousands of feet in the air.

"Look, let's not talk about this here. There's nothing we can do at this airport. I say we go over to Mama Rhodes', and that way we can call the police again. And they can get back to us again." Tony holds the sides of Pepper's arms, as tears glisten in her eyes.

"Tony, Peter's all home by himself. I'm not leaving here unless it's on an airplane." She declared, staring hard into his eyes.

"Madame, we are doing everything we can. Now if you want to stay at the airport, maybe we can get you on standby. It is a possibility that a seat will open up." The woman behind the desk said, head leaning over a bit. Tony looked at Pepper.

"Okay?" 

"Yes." Pepper replied.

"Is that okay?"

"I'll be waiting." They both walk away, silent for a momennt before Tony breaks it, never having been a fan of the lull in conversation.

"Look Pep, I do love Peter. I just... Richard was a good friend, and everytime I look at him I see Richard. And it was different with Nebula, and Natasha, and Harley and Clint. They're our children. But Peter is a nine year old who already lost his entire family in an accident, and I know he hides it but he's angry, and scared, and terrified of the world. He's too much like how I was as a teen. I just - don't want him to end up like me." His eyes remained fixed on the ground, as Pepper sighed.

Stepping in front of him, she made him look up as she cupped his face.

"I love you, Anthony Stark, but that is a load of bullcrap. Peter may be from another mothers womb, but he is our child now, no different from Harley or Nebula. Yes, he's angry, but he's also so happy and full of life, and so much like you. It's not a bad thing. You haven't messed up yet, but if you keep acting like this he will grow to resent you. Listen, you have to fix this when we get back. Let him show you his inventions. He's quite the little genius." She said with a small smile.

"I will Pep. I promise. I just don't want to mess up."

"You won't. Not any more than you already have." He looked away again. "Fix it before it becomes something unrepairable." He nodded. "Now, I need to get going. Take care of the kids, alright?"

"Of course." Tony assured her.

"And-" Pepper was cut off as two voices yelled at her, running into the two.

"Mom!" "Pepper!" Natasha and Shuri yelled respectively. The two were slightly out of breath as tthey stared at the two adults.

"We want to come with you." Natasha said, glaring up at her parents.

"Sweetheart, I don't think that's a good idea." She placed a hand on Natasha's shoulder, only for Shuri to start on Natasha's right.

"Pepper, it's my fault we left Peter behind. I should've checked during the headcount, and only realised he was missing after we were already four hours away." Shuri said with her arms crossed. Pepper sighed. She found she was doing that a lot.

"Look, I'm not even sure if I'll be able to get on the flight, let alone you two. And besides, Natazha your only fifteen. I'd rather you stay with your siblings." Natasha grumbled, but backed down. She knew that once her Mom had made up her mind, there was no changing it.

Shuri, it seemed, was just as stubborn.

"Pepper, please. I already asked T'Challa, and he said it was fine. Let me come with you. Besides, I'm seventeen. Can't I make that choice for myself?" She insisted, and she saw the moment Pepper relented after a silent challenge happened between the two. 

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Shuri would be getting onto that flight.

"Look, fine. However, we don't even know if there'll be seats ava-" She was cut off as the woman from the desk came and walked up to them.

"Actually, a couple has cancelled last minute. You two can come and fill the seats if you would like." Everyone exchanged glances before Pepper nodded and affirmative.

"Try not to burn the apartement down." She gave him a kiss on the lips. "I'll miss you, honey." She said, offering a wave.

"Find Peter. Don't you get lost."

"Goodbye."

Behind them, Natasha was gripping Shuri's hand as she stared up with a fiery glare.

"Please make sure Peter's safe. He's my brother, and I love the little dork." Natasha had a small smile, and Shuri squeezed her hand.

"Of course. I will see you soon." The two girls gave eachother a small hug, before Shuri ran and caught up with Pepper as they boarded the plane.

It was only after take-off Shuri admitted that T'Challa thought her and Natasha only went to the bathroom.

Pepper sighed.


	7. Seven Swans a Swimming

Peter stood in front of the bathroom mirror, wrapped in a towel and curls lying flat against his head. However, they were being slicked back with a comb

"I took a shower, washing every body part with actual soap. Including all my major crevices, between my toes and in my belly button... which I never did before but kind of enjoyed." He spoke to his reflection, before placing down the comb and picking up a can of spray.

"I washed my hair with adult formula shampoo and used creme rinse for that just-washed shine." He continued while spraying under his arms and placing it back down. 

"I can't seem to find my toothbrush, so I'll pick one up when I go out today." He grabbed a black bottle, and shook it to get the liquid on his hands and rubbing them together.

"Other than that, I'm in good shape." He said, slapping his hands to his face before gasping as he felt a burning sensation. There was only one appropriate reaction. He screamed. 

After that, he decided to go back to Clint's room, where he winced at the broken shelf, but stopped when he saw a box slightly open, something green inside.

Going up, he slid open the lid and yelled in triumph at what he found inside.

"All right! Clints life savings." He said, while grabbing a handful of bills. He'd apologise to Clint later, but he needed money for a toothbrush.

Running back downstairs, he grabbed his coat, hat and gloves from where they hung by the door, and pulling on his boots. He grabbed the keys, annoyed he even had to bother with them.

However, with Jarvis down, he had to make sure to lock everything down so no one could get in, and after triple-checking the door was locked, he began down the drive-way, checking the basement door as he went.

There was definately more snow than yesterday, and the temperature was colder than he remembered. But drawing his attention was the van in Mrs Leeds driveway.

"I thought the Leeds went to Florida." He said, before shrugging and continuing on.

...

Quentin sighed in frustration as Toomes noisily pulled some stuff of the shelves, carefully putting it into a backpack while ignoring some of the more sentimental stuff.

"You think you can keep it down a little in there?" Quentin said, turning to glare at the other man who just shrugged and continued on.

Adrian himself was already annoyed at Beck. The man was like a walking timebomb and it was clear he wasn't exactly mentally stable.

 _'You've reached the Leed household. Please leave a message after the beep.'_ He ignored the answering machine, but then the message started to play.

 _'This is Tony Stark again. We're in Paris at the moment. Let me give you the number here.'_ Adrian turned fully to face it, a strange look on his face. _'The country code is 33. The area code is 1-4 and the number is 694-876...'_ Adrians confused frown widened into a grin as he turned to face Beck.

"Hey, Beck." He said, and the other man answered back without turning around.

"What?" He sounded frustrated.

_'Call me in Paris.'_

"You're right. The Starks are gone." Quentin froze, before turning slowly with a crazed look in his eyes and a wide grin.

"I knew they were." He said. "Sweet, sweet vengeance tonight!" Quentin yelled, throwing his hands up as he dropped the bag of stuff he had been holding.

...

When Peter reached the store, he went straight to the hygeine section and after looking over them for a gruelling five minutes, finally picked a red and blue one he liked before walking up to the counter where an old lady stood behind it.

When she looked up to see him standing there, she put down her magazine and kindly smiled at him.

"Hey there, hun. How may I help you?"

"Is this toothbrush approved by the American Dental Association?" Peter asked, placing said object onto the counter as she looked down, confused but still smiling.

"Well, I don't know." She picked it up, turning it over in search, but found nothing. "I'm sorry, but it doesn't say, hun." Peter sighed disappointedly, but he needed to know.

"Can you check please?" She looked at him a moment, pondering whether to amuse him or not, before ultimatly deciding to give in to the large eyes staring into her own.

"Logan?" She called out, and a tough looking man with side burns walked up, reminding him of a wolf with the way his hair was styled.

"Yeah?" Came the gruff reply. Peter frowned. He sounded like a smoker. Peter's nose crinkled. Forget that, he smelled like a smoker. He hated the smell of smoke.

"I got a question here about a toothbrush." The bell rang behind Peter, but he ignored it. "Do you know, is this brush approved by the American Dental Association?"

"How am I meant to know?" They continued talking, but Peter was drawn to the footsteps sounding out from behind him.

On his left, a hand came down on the counter, a bloodied bandage wrapped around the palm. Peter gasped as he looked up to see Old Man Stan, who stared right back from behind his sunglasses.

Slowly backing away, he didn't break eye contact in fear, prey cornered by a predator. Clint's voice floated in his head as he imagined what the man before him was really thinking as he continued to stare back.

"Oh, hon, you pay for that here." The woman said, but the words barely registered in his mind. All he could think was get out, get away, disappear.

"Wait, you have to pay for that. Son! Son!" The man continued staring, so Peter did what he was best at. He turned tail and ran. 

"Hey! Eugene, stop that boy!" Peter sprinted out the door, pushing it open with all his might before he ran across the street, narrowly avoiding the cars coming his way.

"Hey! Shoplifter!" Peter looked back to see a blonde haired brute pointing towards him, but after looking to see who he was yelling at, he gasped at seeing an officer starting to barrel his way towards him.

"Hey! Hey, kid!" Running up the path, adults and children alike dived lut his way as he came running through, shouting watch it and move. "Come back here! Stop it, will you? Come here."

Going towards an archway, he ran through, noticing the ice skating people. He had an idea.

Where the ice started, he sped up and slid onto his knees and instantly went flying across the ice, people having to dodge him before he went directly under a guys legs, hearing him fall behind him.

The officer was faring much worse from where he was trying not to fall over, before getting side-tackled by a man playing ice hockey.

"Yee-haw!" Peter yelled as he reached the opposite end, standing up only to start running again.

He continued on a light jog, passing over a teain as he went across the bridge, finally slowing to a walk once he was sure he was far enough away.

However, as the adrenaline and fear wore down, he started to feel guilty as he dejectidly looked down at the toothbrush in his hand.

"I'm a criminal." He said, shaking his head. What would Tony and Pepper say?


	8. Not an Update - Yet At Least

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't updated. I kept meaning to, but then I kept forgetting. I know it's past Christmas by now, but I was wondering if people would still be wanting me to finish the story? I'll probably only update once or twice a week but it doesn't have many chapters left I have to write.

Anyway, sorry I didn't keep to my promise of updating everyday before Christmas, but I simply kept getting side-tracked and had no motivation every time I sat down to write it. I'll take this down when I re-update.


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